Background:

Covid-19 has evolved into a global pandemic with about 2.4 million contracted cases and over 165,000 deaths, and the numbers continue to grow on a daily basis. While governments around the world have ordered lockdowns and travel restrictions to contain the further spread of the virus, these measures have caused panic and major uncertainty for the global economy.

With the economy stagnant since the beginning of the social unrest in mid-2019 and now further compounded by the effect of the virus, the economic outlook of Hong Kong is grim. Overall, unemployment rate is hitting a 9-year high, causing much stress to our beloved citizens. In an attempt to alleviate the situation, the Hong Kong Government offers HK$10,000 for every permanent resident aged 18 or above. This payout would mean a lot to the under- privileged families, especially those who have lost their jobs or suffered a loss in income during this pandemic.

HKJC Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (CSRP) launched a “We Share! We Can!” pilot study to leverage on the Government’s HK$10,000 handout for every adult permanent resident in Hong Kong in April, 2020. While everyone’s life has been affected by the pandemic, the under-privileged families are the most hit by the crisis, with many of them losing their jobs or income as a result. In the spirit of caring is sharing, we are committed to helping those families in need and would like to invite participants to donate their Government handout to under-privileged families in Hong Kong. In collaboration with Yan Oi Principals Association (仁愛校長會), 陳校長免費補習天地and the QEF-sponsored project, “Early identification and Intervention of Youth Suicide Clusters in Hong Kong”, we will pass the HK10,000 to the under-privileged families recommended by the principals.

Content of the project:

Encourage more kindhearted people to donate whole or part of the $10,000 handout from the Government to those students who families are in financial hardship;

The donors will be matched by students beneficiary, donors would know how their donations assist the students, and students will show their appreciation to the donors through letter, card, or arts work;

Conduct a Social Impact Research:

To understand how the Government cash handout ($10K) would make a difference to the families in need

To understand the rationales of participants who like to forward the $10K to the families in need

To assess the impact on life satisfaction of the families who receive the donation and the individuals who contribute the 10K